


Power Play

by stardustinoureyes



Category: Blindspot (TV)
Genre: Slow Burn, background jane/weller, undercover dating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-05 08:18:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11574105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustinoureyes/pseuds/stardustinoureyes
Summary: Tasha and Patterson go undercover to a hacker club.Canon compliant to the end of season 2.





	1. 365 Days Ago

**Author's Note:**

> I make no promises on posting schedule or anything. Also, the ratings will probably change. Also also, this is basically unedited, so be kind.

365 Days Ago

* * *

“I’ve got a case,” Patterson said with a certain amount of excitement in her voice.

Zapata couldn’t help but look up. It had been a long time since Patterson had seemed this happy about something at work, not since - “You solved a tattoo,” she realized, the shock evident in her voice.

“Yeah, I did,” the blonde said, beaming.

“It’s been awhile,” Reade said, walking around his desk to move closer to the board where Patterson was now displaying a familiar snake tattoo.

“Yeah, well, most of the big tattoos are solved, but a couple months ago I wrote a program to looking specifically at the places not tattooed, to see if there was anything specific, and this morning, the computer discovered this.” Patterson tapped a few buttons and the snake tattoo turned and a series of dots and dashes were extrapolated from the blank spaces.

Tasha stood up. “Morse code.”

Patterson smiled and pointed at Zapata, “Right again, ten points to Zapata. If you remember, this tattoo indicated Serpent 16, a hacker.”

“He was killed on that scavenger hunt set up by the Garen sisters, we remember,” Weller said, taking charge.

“What’s the point Patterson?”

“The point, my friend, is that this new information is also a hacker. One who goes by the name PowerPlay.”

“No shit?” Zapata asked, clearly excited by this person, though the boys didn’t have a clue why.

“Who is this PowerPlay?” Jane asked, trying to keep the topic on track, especially since she could see the way the two women wanted to talk about this hacker.

“She’s a hacktavist. Mostly targets politicians who get money from anti-LGBT foundations, or companies who donate to them,” Patterson explained, pulling up a rap sheet.

“There’s no picture,” Reade said, pointing to the screen. “How do you know she’s a woman?”

“Because,” Zapata explained, like she was holding a child’s hand and walking them across a busy intersection, “every time she drains one of these accounts dry, large anonymous donations are made to pretty much every woman-centric organization in the world.”

“Zapata’s right. Organizations that donate pads to women in Africa, Planned Parenthood clinics, the list goes on and on."

"Okay, but why is this hacker in a tattoo. So far, all of the other hackers had information about Sandstorm or were corrupt in some way. A hacktavist who steals from corrupt politicians and corporations to give to charities doesn't seem like it would be a high priority target to Sandstorm?" Jane mused.

"That's what I thought too, which is why I looked deeper into PowerPlay. Turns out, they haven't been seen in a few years, but a hacker under the name VantagePoint has been working for some terrorist groups hiding their funds," Patterson explains. Kurt moves to ask a question, but she cuts him off. "VantagePoint and PowerPlay have nearly identical hacking routes."

"Ok, slow down," Jane said, waving her hand. "What does that mean?"

"If a hacker's handle is their signature, a hacker's route is their handwriting," Zapata explained. "There are nearly infinite ways to get from point A to point B, but hackers tend to find one route that works for them and stick to it."

"Ok, so PowerPlay somehow became VantagePoint?" Reade asked.

"Yeah, but it's not that simple. A hacker's handle is everything. It's their badge of honor, their resume and title all rolled into one. For a hacker to give up their handle, I don't think it's willingly," Patterson said, shaking her head.

Zapata nodded. "Okay, so how do we find her and figure out why she gave up her handle?"

"The tattoo also has an address," Patterson said, typing on her computer. A second box came up with an address in the warehouse district. "My ears in the darknet tell me it’s a hackers club. But it’s kind of a VIP thing. The only way you can get in is by knowing someone, or being known enough to get an invitation.”

“Ok,” Weller drawled out. “How do we go about getting an invitation?”


	2. 61 Days Ago

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, this is unedited, so read at your own risk.

61 days ago

* * *

Zapata adjusted the collar of her shirt, again.

“Are you nervous?” A familiar voice behind her asked. “Of course you’re not, you’ve done this before. We’ll be fine, right?”

Zapata turned around and caught Patterson’s hand, which were moving rapidly with no apparent purpose, in her own. “Breathe. As long as we stick to our covers, we’ll be fine. Do you want to go over it again?” Patterson nodded. “Okay, let’s start with your name.”

“Bailey Lauren Seymour.”

“Good. And my name?”

“Alexis Luciana Ramirez.”

“Perfect. Now, you ask me one.”

“How did we meet?”

“On the internet, of course, on a Reddit sub-thread about Wynona Earp.”

“How long have we been dating?”

“Only a few months. We were friends for a while before we both realized the other was a hacker too, but it’s been bliss ever since,” Zapata said, looking towards the other woman. They had spent so much time with each other over the course of the last eight months, working towards this moment. Towards going undercover together. It had been a slow process. One that involved countless hours talking to Rich Dotcom and working small hacks. Together, the three of them had built a small reputation for the two women, and it was all about to pay off.

Patterson looked sheepish now. “Do you- uh- do you think we should kiss, just in case- like beforehand, I mean?” 

Tasha thought for a moment. It was probably a wise plan. She bit her bottom lip nervously and pulled Patterson towards her. The kiss was soft and Patterson’s lips tasted like coffee and caramel. She could feel her heart start to beat faster and for a moment, Tasha Zapata could swear she saw stars behind her eyelids. They rested there a moment, their foreheads touching. To Tasha, it was the best feeling in the world, but all too soon, Patterson seemed to remember herself and pulled away, turning to face her locker.

“We should get going,” Patterson said, fixing the collar of her shirt in the mirror one last time.

Zapata nodded, desperately trying to get her breathing under control. “Yeah, sure.”


	3. 364 Days Ago

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so usually things I write aren't this short, but I'm kinda experimenting with this whole time skip thing so... Idk. I think I want to draw out the suspense...?

364 Days Ago

* * *

Jane and Weller sat in an unmarked SUV outside of an equally unremarkable warehouse. They’d been here for a few hours now. They’d watched the sun set, and soon they would watch the sunrise from the same spot.

“I don’t get it,” Jane finally admitted. “Patterson said that this was the address and that, by the energy consumption, it was definitely being used at night, but we haven’t seen a single person within throwing distance of this place.”

Weller nodded. “No, you’re right.”

“What if- What if it’s something underneath the warehouse?” Jane suggested. “I mean, we know it’s an underground club, what if that means literally, in this case?”

Weller pulled out his phone and dialed. “Patterson, hey, does this warehouse have a basement?”

“Not from what I can see but- wait- it looks like there is an abandoned subway tunnel nearby.”

“So the club is underground, literally,” Weller confirmed, frustrated by the circumstances. He rubbed his forehead and pounded once on the steering wheel. “Damnit.”

“Hey,” Jane said, rubbing his arm, “Let’s go home, get some sleep. Maybe Patterson will have something for us later.” Weller nodded and started the car.

 

Back at the New York Field Office, Patterson hadn’t left her lab in hours. Between running surveillance during Jane and Weller’s stake out op and scanning for information on PowerPlay or VantagePoint, she’d slowly compiled a list of people who might have a standing invitation to the underground hacker club.

“Hey,” Zapata said, coming up behind her, with a cup of coffee.

Patterson took it gratefully. It was a milky tan color, just the way she liked it, and Tasha had even grabbed her favorite mug- the one with her friends’ D&D characters on it. “Thank you, you’re a life saver.”

“I’ll never understand how you like that caramel creamer crap,” Zapata said, laughing and shaking her head.

“Don’t laugh at me, all you’ve got is bitter bean water,” Patterson joked as she pouted her lip at the fake insult. They shared a moment, just smiling at each other. It happened sometimes. Patterson was never quite sure what to make of it. They weren’t awkward moments, almost more like- expectant ones. She briefly had a thought about closing the short distance between them and kissing that smug smirk off Tasha’s face. A beeping noise behind her brought her back to reality. She blushed. “Uh, looks like I have chatter from the dark web from - two years ago? Guess who found his way onto the guest list?”


	4. 9 Days Ago

9 days ago

Tasha moved through the crowd with practiced ease. Tonight’s crowd was more dense than usual, but luckily Patterson’s bright blonde hair was fairly easy to spot. She moved behind the other woman, and slipped her arms around her waist. “Hey babe. We’re getting in.”

Patterson turned around to face her. “Really? Are you sure?”

“Yeah, Bruno just told me. We’ve got to go up to the VIP room at 1, someone should meet us there.”

“What should we do in the meantime?”

Zapata smiled. “I have an idea or two,” she said, leading Patterson towards the middle of the floor and pulling her close. Tasha’s hand made its way to the small of Patterson’s back and gripped her tightly. She spun the blonde around, and as much as she wanted to get lost in those blue eyes, she focused on the bouncers guarding the VIP lounge. After being regulars in the club for almost two months, maybe this was finally going to pay off. 

Patterson did her best to focus. They were on the job for christ sake, but every time Tasha pulled her forward, she felt like she was falling or floating or hell, on the moon. But then she would glance at her partner and see her staring off at an exit or the bouncer or really anywhere but her. And Patterson would by lying (mostly to herself) if she said that didn’t hurt.

Part of her was relieved that maybe they were finally getting to a point where they might be closing this operation down. Being so close to Tasha for so long- it’d changed her. They were deep undercover. Every day was spent together as a couple. They made appearances in all of the right circles at all of the right times. They made friends and allies. They slept in the same bed, all to keep up appearances. Would she be able to go back to sleeping alone when this was over?

Tasha looked down and could see the concern clouding Patterson’s eyes. “Hey, are you okay?”

Patterson nodded, then shook her head, then shrugged. “Sorry. I don’t know.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not here. Definitely not now. Maybe not ever.”

Tasha grabbed one of her hands, and brought it up to her lips. “Okay. I trust you, Bae.”

Patterson smiled. Whatever happened, they could figure it out, they just had to get through the next 24 hours. Things were about to happen, and if their intel was right, they would be happening pretty fast.


	5. 360 Days Ago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team brings in Rich Dotcom.

360 Days Ago

 

The elevator door opened and a group of three walked out. In the middle, a chain connecting his wrists and ankles, stood Rich Dotcom. He was flanked by two marines, armed to the teeth. A new addition to his guard.

 

Kurt looked at him and cracked a smile. “Hey, how’s Leavenworth treating you?”

 

Rich mimicked the grin back to him. “Peachy. Funny thing about Kansas, you can see for miles but there is nothing to see.”

 

“I see you’ve dropped the religion act.”

 

“Look,” Rich said, sighing, “I’m tired. I haven’t had an internet connection in almost a year and I’m bored out of my mind. This is more interesting than watching the corn grow. How’s Jane? Is she around?”

 

Jane rolled her eyes at the comment and stepped out from behind Weller. “It’s good to see you haven’t changed a bit Rich.”

 

He winked at her. “For you, never.”

 

Weller nodded to the two guards, who grabbed Rich by the elbow and escorted him into one of the interrogation rooms. Once Rich was settled, and locked onto the heavy metal table, Patterson came in to the room. She looked towards Jane and Weller, who nodded.

 

“Patterson! It’s good to see you!” Rich said, a wide smile across his face. “Aren’t you a little ball of sunshine for sore eyes.”

 

“What do you know about VantagePoint?” She asked, getting right to the point.

 

His brow furrowed. “I don’t - Should I know who that is?”

 

“What about PowerPlay?”

 

“Ah! That one I do know. She runs a schwanky club in the warehouse district. It’s pretty underground, but they serve schlager on tap.”

 

“I don’t care about their drink selection,” Weller said, leaning forward in his chair. “I want to know how Jane and I can get in.”

 

Rich pursed his lips and thought a moment. “Well, you two…” he paused, choosing his words carefully. “Don’t.”

 

“Why not?” Jane asked, from her seat beside Weller.

 

“PowerPlay doesn’t trust men, especially straight men. It’s not just a hacker club, it’s also a gay bar. And you have to be both to get in.”

 

“So how did you get in,” Patterson asked, stepping in between her two seated friends. “You’re not the most prolific hacker out there,” she pointed out.

 

Rich glared at her over a smile. “True,” he said simply, “but I am a mastermind at plans, and a lover of all.”

 

“Get to the point,” Weller said.

 

Rich looked back a him a little deflated that the Agent was so against one of his epic tales of sordid romance and law-breaking. “I was dating this hacker, Eredità-“

 

“Italian for Legacy,” Patterson interrupted.

 

“Very good, Patterson. Anyway, PowerPlay needed his help on a hack and they both thought my help might be warranted.”

 

“What was the hack?” Patterson asked.

 

“Italian government. It had to be onsite, so they wanted me to plan their entrance and exit. Long story short, Marcos- Eredità- got caught and PowerPlay went underground. I haven’t heard from her since.”

 

“But you would still know how to get into the club?” Jane asked, eager to move along.

 

“Negatory, friendo,” Rich said, his face drawn in frustration. “The warehouse itself is a maze of doors, before you reach the elevator. Each door is locked by an encrypted keypad. To get in, you have to have a special code which is changed nightly. PowerPlay sends out the code using an encryption cipher hidden in the code of a random website. Once you get past the doors, to get on the elevator you have to do a synchronized hack of two old school windows computers to get the elevator working. And you can’t just crack your way through either. Each door is on a timer. Once you start pressing the buttons, you have two seconds to finish the code or the door, and the whole warehouse, explodes.”

 

"Ok," Weller said, obviously starting to get annoyed with the eccentric billionaire. "So do you know the websites with the password?"

 

Rich made a face that Patterson immediately associated with the foreword slash emoji. "About that. I never actually knew the sight," he said, trailing off.

 

"Great!" Welled snapped, standing up. He walked towards the door of the room, already motioning for the guards outside to come escort their prisoner back to Kansas.

 

"Wait, wait, wait," Rich pleaded. "Look. I may not have the site, but I know how to get it."

 

Jane leaned forward. "Go on."

 

Rich grinned and look at Patterson. "How about you flex those hacking skills?"


	6. 45 Days Ago

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is by far the longest chapter I've written in this story, but now that I've sort of established some things I think they should be getting longer from here on out.

45 Days Ago

* * *

With their cover fully in place, now was the time to start the real mission: getting in to see VantagePoint. Patterson paced around the small loft she and Zapata would be staying in for the foreseeable future. It was fairly nice, some place they could bring potential leads back to without raising suspicion. But it didn't have the comforts of her own apartment.

 

She'd been surprised when she saw that it was a one-bedroom place, but after thinking about it, it made sense. They were undercover as a couple. Couples generally shared a bed. The first night Tasha had insisted on sleeping on the couch, which was still a few inches short for her. After listening to Tasha complain the entire next day Patterson had threatened the other woman with bodily harm if she didn't take the bed that night.

 

That left Patterson on the couch, and she was even taller than Zapata. So they both quickly agreed that sharing the bed would be the best option. Or really- the only option. Besides, they wouldn't be undercover for long. All they had to do was get into the club, meet VantagePoint and stop or save her. It should only take a few day- maybe a week- tops.

 

Of course, that was almost two weeks ago. Apparently, a paranoid hacker who lines an entire warehouse with explosives doesn't just let whoever can get into her club meet her- go figure. The real problem Patterson was facing was the sheer amount of boredom that comes with pretending to be an internationally wanted fugitive hacker.

 

Most of the work they did during the setup phase had been creating fake accounts they could hack now. But those still didn't take all that much time to break down. And most of their real undercover work happened at night in the club, which left 12+ hours a day filled with nothing to do. At first it had been nice. Patterson was used to going energizer bunny style at work usually, so it was nice to catch up on the video games she'd missed over the past few years. She even had achievement hunted through The Last of Us and TLoU: Left Behind. (She'd even tried to get Zapata to play it, but she always said that Ellie sound too much like Patterson and it creeped her out.)

 

For whatever reason, today was really getting to her. Well, that was a lie. Patterson knew exactly why this seemingly innocuous fall day was getting to her, but she didn’t want to admit it. Admitting it would make it real- would mean that she still hurt- and no one had time to deal with that, especially not undercover. She probably would have talked to Zapata about it, but the other agent was out on a jog, which left Patterson alone with her thoughts.

 

She tried to play some games, she tried to read, she tried to work out, and she even tried to take a bath, but no matter what, she couldn’t shake the feeling of needing to DO something. Patterson pulled the drain plug out of the tub and stood up to get her towel. She walked through the small apartment towards the bedroom when something caught her eye on the kitchen counter- the Times. She bit her lip and stood there, frozen in place by a newspaper.

 

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before slowly walking over to the offending piece of paper. It was crumpled slightly from where Zapata had pulled out the sports pages, which were folded haphazardly next to the rest of the paper. Patterson swallowed at the lump in her throat as she tucked the towel more securely around her. When she was certain the small piece of fabric was secure, she gingerly used both hands to sift through until she found exactly what she was looking for- the crossword. From that point on, time slowed to a standstill.

 

For a while, Patterson didn’t do anything but stare at it like it was a snake rearing back it’s head to bite her if she let it. But after some time (she wasn’t sure how long) Patterson picked up a pen and began to work on it, slowly and carefully.

 

2 Across, 5 letters, Michelangelo’s famous statue. David.

3 Down, 6 letters, German composer sometimes credited with developing modern music. Wagner.

13 Across, 4 letters, A silent beat in music. Rest.

12 Down, 2 letters, Postal code for Indiana. IN.

7 Across, 5 letters, A hand sign made by holding up two fingers. Peace.

 

It was like the paper slapped her across the face.

 

Tasha pulled out her earbuds as she walked into the small apartment. "Bailey?" she called out. They had agreed to use their undercover names in their home in case they were under surveillance, but she was only greeted with silence, which immediately put her on high alert. She closed the door and side-stepped to one of the kitchen drawers, where she pulled a small clutch piece. The kitchen was a mess. Newspaper was scattered all around. From where she was, Tasha couldn't see behind the island, but a small hand was peeking out.

She crossed the distance between them quickly. "Bailey?" she asked again.

Patterson was lying on the ground, curled up around a finished crossword puzzle, in nothing but a towel. Tasha knelt quickly to feel her pulse. It was strong and steady. As she did, Patterson started to stir.

 

"Lex?" Patterson asked, her voice small.

 

"Yeah, I'm here. Are you okay?"

 

Patterson sat up, not noticing as the towel falling around her. "Yeah, I think I- I think I fainted."

 

For her part, Tasha was having a hard time not fainting now as she stared at perfect breasts and distinct collar bones. If she had to wager (which she tried not to do anymore) she would bet everything she had that her face was redder than a Santa suit on Christmas Eve. "Uhm- you're not- you don't-" she stammered, turning away from Patterson.

 

Patterson looked down. "Oh my god," she said, covering herself as best she could while embarrassment flooded to her cheeks. She quickly stood up and made her way to their bedroom, where she found a soft pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. When she was decently clothed she walked back into the living room. Tasha was just getting off the phone. “Hey.”

 

“Hey yourself,” Tash said, concern in her eyes. “I just ordered Chinese. I figured you might need some comfort food.” Patterson nodded, and crossed towards the couch. She sat down and pulled her knees to her chest. They sat in silence for a moment, Tasha just looking at her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

Patterson shook her head. “Not right now. Not tonight. Please.”

 

“Okay. What do you want?”

 

Patterson looked up at her. She wanted Tasha, all of her, all the time. “I want y-“ she started before her breath started coming in shorter bursts again. “Can you hold me? Please? I know it’s a lot to ask-“

 

“Shh. Of course I will,” Zapata said, crossing over to her and wrapping her in a hug.

 

“Can we take a night off? I don’t know if I can go out tonight,” Patterson whispered.

 

“Yeah. I think we can arrange that."


End file.
